Internet Privacy Bill Could Inhibit ISPs

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Internet Privacy Bill Could Inhibit ISPs

Internet service providers know a lot about their customers - and they can easily learn a lot more. Now there's a bill before Congress that would place unprecedented limits on what ISPs can do with this information.

Like any business, online service providers know the names, addresses, and, frequently, the credit card numbers of their subscribers. But records kept by the provider's computers can also keep track of who their customers exchange email with, when they log on, and when they go on vacation.

And because all information that an Internet user sees must first pass through their Internet provider, online services can also determine the Web sites that their users frequent - or even the individual articles that they've viewed. By tracking this information, an Internet provider can tell if their users are interested in boats or cars, fashion, or even if they are interested in particular medical diseases.

The Consumer Internet Privacy Protection Act (HR 98), introduced by Rep. Bruce F. Vento (D-Minnesota) into the House would prohibit ISPs, universities, and other businesses that provide access to the Internet over a modem from disclosing any "personally identifiable information," such as a person's name or address, without the prior written permission of the individual involved. Users who granted permission would be able to obtain a complete list of every person or business who had ever obtained their personal information.

Critics of the legislation say that it would put limits on online service providers that are unheard of in other areas of business.

"What we would like [Congress] not to create is an environment where people who are doing business online have fewer advantages in their ways of doing business than people who are doing business in the print and 800-telephone-number world," says Glee Kady, director of Public Policy and Affairs at Netcom Communications, one of the nation's largest ISPs.

It is common practice for magazines and some stores to sell lists of their customers. Although Netcom currently does not make subscriber information available, Kady said, she can imagine a situation in which Netcom might make special offers available to customers who match a particular profile.

By forcing online services to get their subscribers' permission before releasing personal information, and by putting the force of law behind that policy, Vento's bill runs counter to practices that have been established in other US industries, which generally require consumers to "opt-out" before having their data released and, in any case, are voluntary.

Consumer and privacy advocates, meanwhile, have long been pressuring for the abandonment of "opt-out" and the institution of some form of mandatory controls.

"I think that this is a good vehicle to start the discussion on the protection of privacy," says Leslie Byrne, director of the US Office of Consumer Affairs.

Another big question about the Vento bill is precisely who it would cover were it to pass in its current form. The proposed legislation would apply to "interactive computer services," which the bill defines as "any information service that provides computer access to multiple users via modems to the Internet."

Those who oppose the legislation say that it would cast a much wider net, potentially regulating Web sites, Internet search services, and archives of Internet messages.

"The last time I looked at the Vento bill, there were some terminology problems that needed to be ironed out," says Bill Burrington, AOL's Direct of Public Policy. "We look forward to working with the congressman's office and with the Congressional Internet Caucus" to correct those problems.

Burrington said that it would be better to use "the power of this medium [to let] consumers get information that is much more tailored to their interests," rather than put blanket prohibitions on the release of any consumer information.

"There's a chance to make your own choices. That's what we want to do, not have some government mandate about what we have to do," he said.